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 Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:38 am
 Emerging from a wall in silence Shoji coughed feeling a little shaken after his efforts to get in here, the walls in the palace interior were thinner than he was comfortable travaling through. Glancing through the room he exhaled deeply glad no one was here, if he got caught that easily then it would have been a pretty dismal attempt to infiltrate the fire nations secrets. Stepping over to the desk he nodded to himself recognising the possessions of a general or someone high up, if something was to be discovered maybe this was a good place to start looking. Glancing at a portrait of a young woman with long black hair he paused not really expecting someone that young to have such a high position.
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Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 8:36 am
Kallan walked briskly back to her apartments, noting the excited air around her from all the staff. It seemed they were getting caught up in the festivities, which was a good thing. Everyone needed a break and to have fun once in a while in order to balance out how hard they work.
So what does that say about you, then? With how hard you work, you should be able to party more than anyone else. Her thoughts were wry as she reflected on her work ethic. With as much as she reminded Zuko that he needed a break, she often forgot that she needed one too. It came from trying to redirect everyone's attention away from her in order to hide her family's secret.
Since she was so lost in thought, she was rather startled to walk into her office to see a strange young man in odd clothing examining her desk. He had a fierce-looking face, similar to what Zuko had when he had had to deal with many pompous nobles, but there was no indication of it being tempered by any gentler feelings. The young man hadn't noticed her walk in, but he would any moment now, and might attack.
Kallan kicked the door shut with foot and had a knife in her hand, relaxing into a ready stance. "For an assassin, you're an awfully poor one. Who are you?" She was glad of the water placed in various containers disguised as decorative vases with flowers around the room. She wasn't a powerful bender, but her mother had taught her how to defend herself. Kallan would definitely have the advantage over a non-bender, and would be able to defend herself against another bender long enough for the palace guards to arrive. Her secret would be out, but under this new Firelord, she wasn't so afraid of that anymore.
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:03 pm
Exhaling Shoji stood up when he heard her, it wasn't really worth turning to face her. Pulling his scalf up again he tried to mask himself not planning on making this easy for them. Stamping his foot he pulled the stone around him into action skating the furniture around the room into place behind him "You fire nation think you can destroy the world and then just act like it never happened." Whatever they thought they were doing there was no argument they remained the only nation not completely devestated by their war. Spinning to face her he swung his arms up launching the furniture towards her in an attempt to cover his escape, he'd used up all the time he had it seemed and he'd just have to wait for the party before finding the rest out. Arcing his arms around himself he dropped through to the floor below before breaking into a run through the store rooms and kitchens.
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:19 am
 Tally gaped at this boy. She had not expected anything to come from his and. Maybe just a little comment about how he was worse than her. His story didn't seem real. She had never met anybody she thought capable of this. Not even the fire nation, though they were clearly not against abuse and killing they liked to do things with their own hands...His village...the people that lived there were cowards. She just didn't want to think about it. She had never thought about bending blood, or even ice. "I...." What was she supposed to say. Her brain whirred trying to remember what people said to comfort, "I'm sorry." He and his sister really were amazing people. Though she liked to think it she was always afraid she would not be able to do something great when she had the chance. Even with risking her life everyday for stupid things.
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:27 am
The young man hastily pulled up his scarf, but Kallan knew he would stick out simply because of the clothes he was wearing. The plain, undyed fabric would be a rarity during this time in the Fire Nation capital, where fashions were set and the wilder the fabric pattern, the more popular it was. She didn't need to see his face.
His reaction was instantaneous and instantly revealed himself to be an Earthbender. Saying something about the Fire Nation destroying the world, he launched her desk at her and disappeared into the floor as if sinking into water.
Kallan threw herself out of the way of the desk and rolled, coming up again prepared to throw her knives, but the young man was gone. Cursing, she dashed over to the door and kicked it open, calling for guards.
"Intruder in the palace! He's an earthbender, young male, wearing plain clothes. He's probably somewhere in the kitchen storerooms!" The palace flew into a tizzy as guards ran down to the kitchens. Kallan was ahead of them, of course, warning the servants to get out of the way so that the guards wouldn't ruin preparations too much. She fervently hoped that some guards were on the way to the Firelord in order to secure his safety.
Since she wasn't weighed down by armor, she was the first to arrive in the storerooms, and saw the wake of confusion left by the intruder. It wasn't too serious, just servants and kitchen workers surprised by a stranger dashing through the kitchens. Kallan cursed the fact that the young man was an Earthbender. She remembered how Toph had trashed the throne room and did not enjoy the thought of having more damage done to the palace. As she ran, she quickly checked for signs of Earthbending, and was relieved to find none.
Kallan was a quick runner, and it didn't take her long to catch up with the young man. He was passing through an empty washroom with cold water in the washtub. Skidding to a stop, Kallan swept her arms up, extending her will over the water and forming a thick wall out of it. With a quick push forward, she enveloped the young man in the water. As he flailed and tried to bend, she crooked her hands downward and pushed outward, using the gesture to remove all the residual heat from the water and freezing it solid. Her control wasn't so perfect that she froze all his body, but enough of it was trapped to keep him from running away.
Her knife came out again and she had it next to his throat in a flash. "Like I said before, you're a pretty poor assassin. Now, you're in a sticky situation. As an intruder, you will be dealt with extremely harshly, especially since you look like a commoner. Sad, but true. As an Earthbender, it will go twice as badly, because a lot of Firebenders are still used to being tough on other benders." He struggled and Kallan inhaled sharply to freeze the ice further. "I can offer you a little bit of protection from that, though, if you promise me a few things. One, your word that you won't try to escape before meeting the Firelord. Two, no bending between now and the end of said meeting with the Firelord. That's partly for your own safety, since you won't be a match for the all the Firebenders that are currently serving as guards at once. Three, not a word that I'm a waterbender around the guards. I haven't told the Firelord yet. Do we have a deal?"
The tramp of heavy boots could be heard approaching, and Kallan knew they were running out of time. As a gesture of trust, she put her knife away and faced the young man. His head was clear of the ice, so he would be able to answer her.
"Quickly, now, there isn't much time."
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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:40 am
 Finishing the story, he longed for his sister more than ever before. What would she look like? What would her voice sound like? The innocence in her everyday eyes... but hidden were the eyes of a master bender who knew of the cruelties humankind was capable of - the eyes of someone who was willing to give up her own life for her brother. On the verge of tears, he wondered what his sister would be like had she still been alive. He replied to Tally in a low voice, "There's nothing to be sorry about. What's happened has happened, and those were tough times. There will come a day when I avenge my sister's death." He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and then asked, "Tally, should we head out to the work site?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 12:01 pm
Narrowing his eyes Shoji glared at her offer before closing his eyes, his time exploring had taught him alot but now he was about to dive into unknown territory. The situation wasn't ideal for bending but his hands had enough space to clench and move, moving his head could help him break free but it didn't help get rid of her so his only remaining option was to create his own form of bending. His experience had taught him that an earth bender had limited control over anything that contained mineral ranging from metal to sand and if he was right he could use that to force an effect on something she couldn't fight against. Clenching his fist he watched as her arm suddenly bent at a painful angle his control just enough to snap the bone, he couldn't help smiling at the fact his new trick had some effect. Thumping the earth around him up to shatter the ice Shoji exhaled shrugging his body off as he looked at her his face revealed "The last time the fire nation offered an arrangement like that how long did it take before everyone in the earth kingdom was suffering? I won't accept an offer from a murderer." Turning away he ran at the far wall being enveloped by it and vanishing into the solid rock behind it. It took a few minutes before he emerged from the floor outside the palace walls struggling for breath, he wasn't happy that he'd been caught but at least his first attempt at bone bending had worked.
His work would be alot harder now she'd seen his face not to mention he didn't really fit in here but if he could keep his head down until the party then he'd have another chance to break in. Even so he may have overplayed his hand now that a fire nation general had witnessed bone bending, maybe she wouldn't believe it was possible or try to rationalise it but she didn't seem that stupid and that could be trouble.
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:11 pm
Kallan had thought that, given the position the young Earthbender was in, he would surrender. She wasn't prepared for her arm to suddenly whip backward and bend at an unnatural angle. She yelped in pain, dropping her knife and grabbing her arm, trying to force it back to a normal angle. A haze fell over her vision as the bones in her arm strained to bend in a way they had never been designed to bend. The pain almost caused her to pass out, but she managed to keep her wits about her as the young man spoke to her.
No! I'm not a murderer, can't you see? Just give me a chance to show you, I can show you the truth! She tried to speak, but there was too much pain. It was a shock when the pain finally stopped as the young man disappeared into the wall. Kallan fell to the floor gasping as an oddly detached part of her mind marveled at how much control the young man had over his Earthbending. The wall looked untouched.
It was at this moment the guards rushed in, spreading out through the small washroom. One knelt next to her, asking if she was all right. She nodded numbly, and managed to get out, "The Firelord! Where-?"
"He's safe. Where did the Earthbender go?" She pointed at the wall, still trying to get her breath back. Her arm was still sore and she rubbed it ruefully.
I will never underestimate a bender like that again. Damnit, I wish I was better at bending. If I'd only gotten him completely encased in ice, he wouldn't have escaped. Kallan sighed and let the guard help her stand.
"I need to speak with the Firelord. He needs to know the situation."
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:21 pm
Tally nodded abruptly glad for the change of topic. While he talked about his revenge all she had wanted to do was suggest something to take his mind off it. "Yes. Right away" She took his hand and pulled him out the door keeping herself silent for once.
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 6:11 pm
Glancing back at the palace once he was a safe distance from the richer district Shoji exhaled calming down a little. Being a sandbender ment he was used to moving earth in a far more fluid manner, if he hadn't spent time learning from a master then he may never have been able to use the same force and solidity that most earthbenders took for granted. His old master had taught him a few things about unlawful conduct too and although he didn't consider himself the same as his tutor he had to admit some level of gratitude for what he'd learnt from him. Shaking himself back to the present he tried to think about the best way to avoid the guards and the notice of anyone that might give him away, considering how regemented the fire nation was everyone was a candidate for turning him over.
Worrying about it wouldn't help, for now he'd relax and think about what he had learnt. The girl was a matter of some intrest, a water bender of high rank in the fire nation. Whatever the case she'd seemed pretty certain he was an assassin so he could probably expect a bigger investigation than he was probably worth. Pulling his mask up again he kept walking away needing to find somewhere he could outmanuver the fire nation soldiers and remain undetected until the banquet.
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 9:16 pm
Kallan walked briskly to the Firelord's apartments, escorted by four guards. Normally, she would have just been assigned one, but since being appointed second adviser, she'd apparently warranted a bigger guard. They were having to hurry to keep up with her, being weighed down by armor as well as being taller. She wasn't too short, but was a good few inches shorter than the average Fire Nation citizen. Her parents always referred to her as being 'petite', which was no trial to Kallan.
She finally reached the Firelord's apartments and was both glad and a little annoyed to see a force of twenty guards spaced evenly through the hall. She was stopped by one, but once she explained her purpose, was allowed in.
Zuko was with his uncle and looked rather grim. Bowing low, she started speaking.
"My apologies, my lord, but an intruder was discovered just a little while ago. He was an Earthbender and apparently came in through the walls into my office. I happened upon him and he attacked me, then tried to escape through the kitchens below."
Her fists clenched in a spasm of nervousness and she tried to remind herself that she had nothing to fear from Lord Zuko or from General Iroh. Neither were ones who seemed inclined to persecute waterbenders. Only years of habit made her hesitate, that was all.
"I gave chase and managed to catch up with him in one of the washrooms. I was able to stop for a moment by encasing him in a block of ice, but he had enough range of movement to do something to me and escape. He nearly broke my arm through bending. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to catch him, my lord."
She waited tensely, head still bowed, wondering how Zuko would react. A long silence stretched out between them, and she broke out in a cold sweat.
It was Iroh that first spoke, however. "You did your best to protect your Firelord. Do not be ashamed that you failed. Instead, learn from it so that the next time you face this Earthbender, you will not fail to capture him."
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 4:34 pm
(( I sorry I be not active! I made up with it with freakishly long post!!))  The young Firelord spoke with his uncle and they both shared news of the world with each other. Zuko spoke of the Fire Nation and his struggles with racism from the other Fire Nation peoples, but also a sort of contempt with him that seemed to seethe into every high ranking official that worked under his father. All this troubled him, but he did say that he hadn't had too many problems as of yet. He then turned to his uncle for any news of the Earth Kingdom.
Iroh told him about the slow build of prosperity of Ba Sing Se and the rest of the Earth Kingdom, all of which Zuko had read about in his letters, but Iroh confessed to him at this time that he had heard of a few minority groups that seemed to be vengeful in motive to their target; the Fire Nation. Iroh explained that of the few the guards of the city had run into and had to imprision, that all they were seeking was closure for all that had happened to them, their families, and their entire people. They felt like they had been opressed too long, and the kind of feud they were looking for was one filled with retribution and violence. "For the people looking for revenge," Iroh said in a passive manner, but with all seriousness in his voice, "I fear they will find what they are searching for." He paused a moment to sip his tea before he spoke again; "This is a very grand festival, Zuko, and though it is a time of happiness and celebration, I hope you have not forgotten the place that you have taken has brought along enemies. Taking your father's throne was the right thing to do, but now you must find a way to truely secure your place and root out the corruption that Ozai left behind. You have to become the ruler that you were born to be, but above all, but must protect yourself against those that would hurt you, and surround yourself with those that are closest to you."
"I will, Uncle," Zuko said with a respectful dip of his head, though the news of all this unrest in the Earth Kingdom unsettled him.
It was then Kallan walked into the room. He frowned as she explained why she had walked in without a formal entrance and instead with a look of necessity on her face. Zuko paused in his train of thought as she continued to describe how she had met with the intruder. If his uncle hadn't picked up on the fact that she had used ice to trap the intruder, then he wasn't saying anything about it. Zuko figured that it didn't matter much at the moment, but it seemed he didn't know as much about Kallan as he thought he did.
He looked to his uncle as he finished speaking and nodded in agreement, "We may have to the double the guard around the festival tonight, and make sure that all of my generals and commanders are accounted for. Send out messenger hawks to tell them that they will be watched for their own safety, because we don't know if this Earthbender acted alone..." His expression was grim as he said it, but because of this interuption in the regular swing of things, he may have to forego the festivities dressed as a civilian. Then again, if he had a mask, and wasn't surrounded by a large mass of guards himself, he may be better protected that way. "No further changes of plans will occur unless we get any news of the intruder, get to an artist and have wanted posters made," he said to Kallan and put his hand to his chin thoughtfully as he thought of the festival and all the masks, "Though I suppose he might be hard to spot at the festival. Regardless, we should have them made. He may not make another attempt until after the festival if we are lucky."
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Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:45 am
Sat in the lowest streets of the city Shoji exhaled his thoughts churning in an effort to deside his next move. There was no other chance to infiltrate so the festival was his only choice and if they thought he was an assassin then maybe that'd work to his advantage. The guards would be too concerned protecting the firelord and the visiting dignitaries while he would be searching for evidence of the fire nations intents. He had no doubts that the fire nation hadn't changed, that they were still as corrupt and intent on controling the other nations as possible. He would fin the evidence and bring them down even if he couldn't say what he'd do with it when he found it. The more he thought about it the angrier he got even if he knew half of it was because he had no idea what he'd do if he couldn't find anything or what he'd do with it if he did.
Looking down at the mask he'd bought he nodded to himself, he would find something and he would make use of it. For now he'd rest for the evening and then he'd put the rest of his plan into action. He wasn't used to waiting around like this and it just made things harder to deal with, he just wanted to run back and break in again and find whatever evidence he could no matter what it was.
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Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:22 am
((Sorry for the delay again - Just took another midterm... for Physics II this time. I've got another midterm tomorrow, but it's Logic and Reasoning, so it shouldn't be too hard.)) Kaito let himself be pulled out of the palace by Tally without offering any resistance. His mind was preoccupied with that final scene...
The background was eerily motionless as the foreground was shifting up at sickening speeds. A wave of dread accompanied by an uneasy feeling of weightlessness had set in, and everything was silent behind the wind roaring past my ears. Then I heard a voice of purity and innocence cry out. She screamed that she didn't want me to die and she didn't want to be alone in what she must have reasoned was a cruel, tormenting world, but the wind battered it down to a soft voice. For the next few moments, I thought she'd passed out. Her eyes were closed, and her body was still. Then I saw her eyes light with a determination I'd never seen before, and her hands moved in a strange circular motion...
He shuddered. He detested these haunting recollections, yet at the same time, he had to remember. "Tally, do you know where you're going? I don't know where anything is in this city..." His voice trailed off as he was only paying half attention. It resumed, whether he wanted or not. The scene was playing in his head, and he couldn't shake it off of his mind...
It took only a fraction of a second for my sister to transform into a cloud of deep red mist, but it replayed in my mind again and again, in slower motion, and it tormented me. The very same circulation keeping my dear sister alive seemed to bite and tear through her own flesh body in unnatural ways, and several long seconds later, the blood mist was all around me, and I could feel it chilling into ice...
Kaito momentarily forgot to take another step and nearly stumbled, then his mind was back to reality.(( T^T re-reading this post makes me feel like I'm psychotic or something...))
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